The Pierre Jr Shooters BB Gun team competed in the 51st Annual Daisy National BB Gun Championships in Rogers, Arkansas over the Fourth of July weekend. Pierre won their 7th national title, outshooting 58 other teams from across the nation.

The Pierre Jr Shooters BB Gun team competed in the 50th Annual Daisy National BB Gun Championships in Rogers, Arkansas over the Fourth of July weekend. Sixty-eight teams from across the nation competed in the competition. The Pierre team placed fourth out of the 68 teams.

Individually in the alternate division, Wyatt Rose placed third in the prone position and seventh overall. Andrew Kliewer placed third in standing, first in kneeling, and second place in total aggregate. There were 118 shooters in the alternate division.

There was also a Champions Match, which was for shooters who could not shoot in the regular team match due to having shot in the match last year. There were 52 shooters in this division. Ryan Habeck placed third in the prone position and sixth overall. Jacob Beastrom placed ninth overall.

Pierre Jr. Shooters participated in the Highmore Jr. Shooter Invitational held on March 14 in Highmore, SD. Teams participating included Brule Co., Douglas Co., Highmore, Humboldt, Kirley, Lake Co., Marshall Co., Pierre, Potter Co., and Spink Co. The Jr. Shooters next competition will be in Britton on March 21. This will be the first qualifier for the national match.

The Pierre Jr Shooters participated in the American Legion State BB Gun Championship held on March 21 in Britton, SD. Teams participating included Buffalo, MN, Buffalo, ND, Douglas Co., Highmore, Humboldt, Kirley, Grant Co., Lake Co., Marshall Co, Pierre and Spink Co. The 12-15 yr old team placed second in this national qualifier match, and therefore earned the right to participate in the Daisy National BB Gun Championships in Rogers, AR in July. The Jr. Shooters next competition will be in Pierre at Riggs High on March 28.

* Andrew Kliewer shot a 100 in prone providing him a chance to tie or break the national record of 100 plus eight more consecutive bulleyes. Andrew was unsuccessful in his national record attempt, but we applaud hm on his achievement.

The Pierre Jr Shooters participated in the National Wild Turkey Federation State BB Gun Match held on March 28 in Pierre at Riggs High gym. Teams participating included Brule Co, Douglas Co, Highmore, Humboldt, Kirley, Lake Co, Marshall Co, Pierre and Spink Co. The Pierre team had already qualified last week for the Daisy National BB Gun Championships to be held July 3-5 in Rogers, Arkansas. This will be the eleventh consecutive year for coaches John Forman and Gene Garber, and the 12th consecutive for the Pierre Junior Shooters. During that time, the Pierre team has won six national championships.

The 2014 Pierre Jr. Shooters arrived in Rogers, Arkansas on July 2, 2014 wondering what their destiny would be. With weeks of practice behind them, it was time to find out how they would stack up against the best from across the nation.

Day 1, July 5, started off with the prone position at * o'clock sharp, followed by the standing position. At the end of competition on the first day the Pierre team stood in third place behind Spink Co (SD) and Gillaspie Co (GA). After a lunch break, all competitors went to take the safety/rules test, almost always the deciding factor in a national championship run. Because of a new scoring system being used this year, the Orion scoring system, results were being posted almost immediately to the internet. Test scores were also uploaded to the system that afternoon once test correcting was completed. At the end of day one, the Pierre Junior Shooters were in first place by virtue of a near perfect test score - 496 out of a possible 500, garnering them the Paul Tiefer Memorial Award for High Team Test.

Day 2, July 6 would see the competitors showing their skills in the sitting and kneeling positions. Going into day 2 with a slim 6 point lead, parents and coaches were not only watchful of their team, but the other teams as well. The Pierre team extended their lead to 12 points through sitting and maintained that lead through kneeling, coming away with a first place finish with total score of 2375 out of a possible 2500.

Individually, the Pierre team also collected some awards. Cassandra Ryckman was the individual winner, posting an aggregate score of 482. Cassandra has made the most out of her three trips to the Daisy National Championships. Cassandra was an alternate on the 2011 team and a regular team member on the 2012 and 2014 teams, all of which came home with a national championship. Cassandra also has scored a perfect test score all three of those years. In addition to her individual championship, Cassandra was also third in the prone position. Jacob Beastrom was second in the sitting position and just missed the podium in the aggregate total with a 478 total decided by center shots. Ryan Habeck was eighth in the competition rounding out the top ten finishers for the Pierre Junior Shooters. In the alternate division, Zane Schuchard was third in sitting and finished out with a second place aggregate total.Categories: BB Gun, Press Room